Improvement in battery-guns



1- removed.

RICHARD J. GATLIG, 0F INDIANAPOLIS,1NDIANA.

IMPROVEMENT lN BATTERY-l-GUNS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. @7,6311, dated May Si,1865.

To all whom it may concern.'

`Be it known that I, RICHARD JORDAN GAT- LING, ot' Indianapolis, countyof Marion andy State ot' Indiana, have made certain new and usefulImprovements in Fire Arms, which I term a Battery-Gun, and I do herebydeclare the tolloviing to bc a lull, clear, and eX- actdescription ot'the saine, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part ofthis specification. in which- Figure l isa side elevation of the gunwith its carriage and wheels. Fig. 2 is aV plan of' the same, or themounted gun as viewed from above. Fig. 3 is a partial axial section on ahorizontal plane, showing parts of the mechanism in plan.- It is takenon the line xx, Fig. 14. Fig. 4 is a vertical longitudinal axialsection, the locks and main shaft being shown in elevation. It is takenin the line y y, Fig. let. Fig. 5 is a perpspective view of the ringfurnished with inclined planes set spirally in relation to the axis ot'the gun and used for giving the longitudinal motions to the locks andbreech-pins. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the cockingring, which isused for drawing the lock-hammers hack and liberating them to explodethe cartridges when the gun is being operated. Fig. 7 is a transversevertical section, at right angles to the axis of the gun, on

the line .fr Fig. 3. Fig. 8 is an end view of the cylinder Within whichthe locks are inclosed, and showing the pcrtorations vin the heads ot'the said cylinder', which form guides for the locks. Fig. 9 is anelevation of said cylinder. Fig. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view otone of the cartridge-boxes, from which the cartridges are fed into thegun, and is a section on line xx, Fig. 1], and shows the cartridges inplace. cartridge-box. Fig. 12 is an elevation of one of' the locks. Fig.13 is a longitudinal central section ot' one ot' the locks on the lineze, Fig. 12. cascabel and screw-cap, which closes the end of the chamberoccupied by the rotating gears, Figs. 15, 16 are views of the cap whichis used to close a cavity in the cartridgecarrier when temporarilydisused.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

The main characteristic of my invention is a gun having, a series ofbarrels with a 'carrier and lock-cylinder rigidly fastened to the mainshaft and rotating simultaneously'and Fig. ll is a top view ot' the.

Fig. 14 is a rear view ot'thc gun with the' continuously under therotation of suitable gearing, the cartridges being fed into the cavitiesot' the carrier. vdriven endwise into the barrels, then exploded, andthe empty cartridgecases withdrawn without any pause in the operation.

l will now proceed to describe in detail the peculiarities, theconstruction, and the operation of my invention.

The nature ot my invention consists, first, in attaching thelocklcylinder in which the locks reciprocate longitudinally, the carrierin whose cavities the cartridges are deposited consecutively and thebarrels rigidly to a revolv- -ing shaft, so that each' lock shall at alltimes be in line with the cartridge-cavity in the carrier and with thebarrel to which it appcrtains, and so that the operations of loading,tiring, and'extracting ofthe spent cartridge-cases m ay proceed underthe impulse ofthe driving mechanism continuously, eachbarrel,cartridgecavity, and lock forming a gun in itself, which in thecourse of its rotation/is brought into contact with the requisiterelational devices for manipulating and operating it and causing thevarious parts to perform their appropriate functions ot' receiving thecartridge from vthe feeder, thrusting it directly into the bore ofthegun, cooking the hammer, exploding the cartridge, and finallyyextracting the spent cartridge-case,all ot' which several operations areeffected without stopping the rotation of the barrels, locls&c., whenthe gun is being operated; secondly, in the construction ot' the locks,each of which consists ot' a breech-pin united t'o a buttpiece andhaving a sleeve and lug moving upon it, which, under theirnpulse ofaspring, acts as ahammer to drivetheignltingpunchagainst the flange ot'the cartridge, the lock also a'ording attachment for the hook whichslips over the flange of thecartridge and on the rearward motion of thelockwithdraws the spent cartridge-case; thirdly, in the camring whichoccupies a position at the rear of the lock-cylinder, and has within ittwo splral or cam shaped faces, one of them operating upon the butt-endof the lock mechanisms 1n each case to drive the cartridge from thecavity in the carrier into the bore of the gun, and

the other cam-face to act upon a lug on thev said lock mechanism towithdraw the breechpin, bringing with it the spent shell ory case andretreating so far as to open the cavity in the carrier for thedeposition of another cartridge; fonrthly, in the cap or plug which isadapted to be laid over any such one of' the cavities in-tlie carrier asit niay be desired shall not receive the cartridge, owing to somedisariangement of the parts or the bursting of the barrel, which niayrender that section of the gun inoperative.

The gun, speaking ot' it in general terms, is mounted upon ils carriage,consisting ot' the wheels B B and the trail C, and is secured thereon bythe usual cap,I),over thetruiiiiions F, which project laterally frointhe frame H, by which the gun is supported and within which it revolves.The breech is raised and lowered by the elevating-screw E. The revolvingportion, consisting ot' the lock-cylinder carrying the loading andtiringmechanism, the cartridge-carrier` and the barrels, is attached to andsupported by an axial or main shaft. N, whose forward end is journaledin the end piece of the frame H, and the rea-r end ina diaphragm orpartition, I, within the casing J, which is supported by tlanges ou theframe H. The rotation ofthis sli-aft and the devices re cited above,which are rigidly attached thereto, is accomplished by means of ahand-crank, K, Whose shaft L carries a bevel-pinion. M, whichgearsintoabevel-wheelontheshaftN. (Shown clearly in Fig. ]4.) Thegearingis located in a chamber occupying the rear of the casing J, whoseend is closed by a screw-cap, O, with an attached cascabel. y

lt has been stated that the cylinder P, which carries the loading andtiring inechanisin,the cartridge-carrier Q, and the barrels Rareattached tothe axial shaft N by afeather fitting into them and a groovein the shaft N, so as to revolve with it. The barrels are securedthereon by means ot two disks or heads, S S', which are fast on theshaft and in which they are secured, the rear disk, S', being clampedbetween the sleeve'l and the carrier Q, to be hereinafter described.'lbe barrels R are secured in the said disks in any suitable way, andaie shown as secured into the rear disk and passing through the forwarddisk, being htted thereon, so as to be sufliciently tight to hold thecontents ot' the casing U, which surrounds the barrels and holds water,plaster-of-paris, or other material to preserve the barrels frominjuriousexpansion by excessive heating. The said Huid is inserted andwithdrawn through the oritice U', other provision, not necessary todescribe, being made for more solid contents, should it be required.

The cartridge-carrier Qis fitted between the disk S and the cylinder P,and has a number of grooves in its periphery which are parallel with theaxis of revolution, are in line with and agree in number with thebarrels, which may be of any desired number. I have shown in my drawingsbut four, but the invention has no reference to specitic number. These'grooves are shown very clearly in Fie. 7, and are adapted as thecarrier passes under the box containing the cartridges to/receive eachof them a cartridge to be thrust into the bore of the gun by `thesuitable niechanism,which will be described in detail presently, whenthe action will be more properly treated ot' under that general headlotl this specification which is devoted to describing the operation.

Immediately in the rear of the cartridgecarrier Q is a cylindricalchamber, P, likevi'ise att-ached by feather or other suitable device toAthe axial-shaft N, and lsupported at the rear by the nut V, which screwsupon the threaded portion ofthe shaft N. This cylinder is shown by arear end elevation in Fig. Sand side elevation at Fig. 9, as well asbeing showninits place by the two longitudinal general sections, Figs. 3and 4;

in each end, the purpose'of which' slotsand orifices will he presentlyexplained, the sections, Figs. 3 and 4, only show the detached partswhich areI cnt by the section, and do not give so correct an impressionof its forni and character as Figs. 8 and 9.

In the rear immediate neighborhood of 'the cylinder P, but not inconnection therewith, is a cani-ring, \V. (Shown in perspective in Fig.5, and also in its place in the sections Figs. 3 and 4.) This camringWabuts at its rear upon and is bolted to the diaphragm I, which is a partof and a partition in the stationary casing,r J. The exteriorcylindrical portion of this stationary ring ris embraced by the casingJ, and the inside is provided with two cam-surfaces, W NV. whichalternately advance and retract the loading mechanism, which will bepresently described, and in connection therewith l shall take occasionto describe niore explicitly the action of these cams to which I nowmerely refer.

Around the anterior portion of the cylinder P is another stationaryring, X, which I call the cooking-ring,77 Fig. 6, whose forward edge isinthe plane of revolution of the barrels, but its rear edge forms aspiraly or cam surface, which impinges upon a lug on the lock-haininer,and withdraws it toward the rear until it reaches'the end of the inclineplane or camsurface X', when it drops oft', and is thereby' suddenlyreleased to the influence ofthe spring and caused to strike the collarattached to the igniting-punch, as will be more fully explained in thenext paragraph, which will explain in detail the construction of themoving parts, which load and explode the cartridge and withdraw thespent capsule or case.,

The loading, tiring, and cartridge-case-extracting device is shown inits place in Figs. 3 and 4, and. is more particularly exhibited on alarger scale in Figs. 12 and 13, in the former of which it is showninelevation and in the latter in section. It vconsists of'a butt-piece, a,with lugs ac", and united to the breechpin b by the rounded shank b' ofthe latter,

which forms a mandrel for the traversing ot the sleeve c of the hammer,which has a longitudinal reciprocating motion upon it, and has a lug,c', for a purpose to be explained.

-d is a collar and punch, the former of which but as it is a `increshell with 'y longitudinal slots in its periphery and oritices slidesupon the mandrel c, and the latter-the punell-slides in a slot in thebreech-pin Z1. e is the retractor, with a hook, e, at its end, whichslips over the flange ofthe cartridge as the breech-pin I) drives thecartridge into the bore ofthe gun. The shank ot the retraetor is pinnedto the breech'pin, and the butt of the retractor is also dovetailed intothe collar j, which is a part of or fastened to the breechpin b. d is aspiral spring, which abuts against the forward end ot" the butt-piece aand against the shoulder of the sleevehammer c, so as ltosimultaneouslyact upon each of these fares. To avoid prolixity I shalldefer an explanation of the various offices performed bythe devicesrecited in this paragraph to that section ot this specitication whichtreats ofthe operation of the gun,'as it naturallyr calls for lucid andconsecutive statement in that place, and I de= sire to avoid needlessrepetition.

Figs. 10 and ll show the cartridge-box into. which thecartridges arepacked for transportation,and outot' which theyare ted by their owngravity, one by one, into the cavities ofthe carrierQas it revolvesbeneath them. These boxes are rectangular sheet-metal cases, adapted tothe size of the cartridge, which, it is hardly necessary to say, areadapted to the bore of the gun. The sectional view, Fig. 10, shows theappearance of thc cartridges Z iu the case Y, and Y shows the cap bywhich they are retained in the case during transportation. These views,Figs. ltland 11, are on a larger scale than the view Fig. 7, but thelatter gives the best view of the position of the cartridgebox Y as itis in place, viewed from the rear, showing a section on the line .frFig. 3, except that the tianged ends ot' the cartridges are shown.

The rest or holdcrA, which forms a cap over the cartridge -carrier Q,and retains the cartridges in theircavities until they are projectedinto the bore of the gun, is hinged to an elbowpiece, A', which issuitably fastened by bolts to the frame H of the gun. This holder, whichis shown most effectively in Fig. 2, has an inclined ledge, in which thebox of cartridges tits, so as to allow them to pass out consecutivelyinto the cavities of the carrier. l The slot in the cap ot the restallows them toiloe seen as they pass, while the curved under side of thecap retains them in their places.

The usual sights, B 13"', are placed over the breech and muzzle ofthe'un, and need no particular description, as they do not dier from thosein ordinary use.

Fixed metallic cartridges arensed in this gun, and are contained incases, ot which a number are kept on hand and refilled as occasion mayrequire.

Metallic capsor covers, Figs. 15, 16, may be placed over such one ormore ot' the cavities in the carrier as may be rendered necessary by thetemporary disablement ot' the barrel or lock mechanism appertaining tothe said cavity. This has the el'ect of shutting oft' the feed of thecartridges into one or more of the barrels which are incapacitated t'orservice, and

admits of the use of the remaining barrels without cessa-tion other thanto fit the cap over that cartridge-cavity withdrawn from service.

The gun can be so constructed as to revolve to the right or let't orback andi'orth, as may be desired. This mo'ditication can be effected byadding to or changing the spiral cam-faces W W and stationarycocking-ring X, so as to produce such results.

The operation of my gun is as follows: The gun, being mounted on thecarriage or on a rotary platform or turntable in such a manner as maybest suit the purpose ot' defense or ot'- fense t'or which itisdesigned, is trained and sighted, and an attendant deposits a box ofcartridges,with the uncovered end downward,

yupon the inclined ledge of the holder A. The

gunner then seizes the hapdle ot' the crank K and revolves the pinion M,which rotates with it the axial or main shaft N.

While desiring to avoid repetition I must here repeat that the cylinderwhich contains the loadiig, cocking, and tiring mechanism is fast to theshaft, as are also the cartridge-carriers Q and the barrels R, thelatter through the intervention ot' the disks S S', into which the'rearand torward ends, respectively, ot the barrels arc secured. secutivemotions and show the action ot' the various parts by which onecartridgeis rammed toits place, exploded, and the empty shell retracted,and vthis will serve as a full description when it is stated that eachbarrel and its attendant devices are a complete gun in themselves andthe series is but a repetition in duplicate, triplicate, orquadruplicate, as the ease may be, ot the operation of a single gun,this multiplication of parts constituting a coinpound gun with a numberonly limited bythe question of convenience and utility, the speciticnumber being indeterminate and not included within the scope ot' myclaims.

'lo resuine. The shaft and attendant machinery beingrevolved by thegearing,one ofthe hollows in the cartridge-carrier Q, passing nnder theopen end ot' the cartridge-box, receives a cartridge and carries itover, the loading and tiring plunger(Fig. l2) revolving with it until4the rear end ot' the butt-piece a comesy in contact with and commencesto ascend the inclined plane or cam-face W ot' the stationary ring W. Asit ascends this inclined plane the breech-pin b is moved forward,thrusting the cartridge into the barrel, while the direct longitudinalmotion ofthe loader is secured bythe traversing ot' the lug et in thelongitudinal slot ofthe cylinder P, Fig. 9. As the plungery movesforward it carries the sleeve-hammer c with it until theu lug e on thehammer comes in contact with the rear or cam face of the stationarycooking-ring X, Fig. 6. By means of this ring the hammer is drawn towardthe rear, compressing the spring d', which in no wise interferes withthe action ot' the plunger, which continues its forward motion until therear of the butt-piece a arrives on the dat p0r- I will now trace thecon-e 4 amaai tion of the came-face W' to a point marked with a red starin Fig. 5', which indicates the firing-point, and is at or near thelowest point reached by the barrel in its rotation on the central axis.This endwise motion of thel plunger has brought the forward end of thebreech-piece close against the tlange of the cartridge, which istirinlylield in the chainbei ed recess at the rear of the barrel, theexploding-punch, whose point protrudes a little beyond the eiid of thebreech-pin, being forced back eveii with the same by the pressure uponthe fiange ofthe cartridge. This leaves a small space between the collard of the rpunch and the angefof the breech-pin, as may be seen iii thelower one of the two anges as represented in Fig. 4.

- It is proper to mention at this point that at some period of thecontact of the breech-pin b with the rear end of the cartridge the hooke is slipped over the flange, and when the cartridge is rammed homeoccupies a recess in the edge of the bore.

To proceed with the description of the ino tion, after this apparentdigressioii, iii which the status of the different parts at the point offlring has been considered, we shall find that the luge of the hammerhas been withdrawn rearwardly to the end of the cam on the cooking-ringX X', Fig. 6, when by the continued revolution it is freed to the actionof Y the spring d', and the. hammer c forcibly 4driven against thecollar d of the exploding-punch, closing the space between d and f, andcausing the point of the punch to indent the tiange of the cartridge,which contains the fulminate, and explodes the charge. The two surfaceswhich come together with force in this percussive action consist of theannular collar and the flange of the breech-pin, and their eX- teiidedsurfaces receiving the blow are a safeguard against injury by batteringor upsetting. The dat portion which terminates the came-face W isintended to hold the breechpiece tirnily against the rear of thecartridge for a short space of time asa precaution in case of acartridge hanging tire, and it will be observed that the rlrearwardforce-of the discharge is received upon the end of the breechpin andbiitt-piece,which I have called occasionally a plunger77 for ttie sakeof convenience, andk this is supported in the rear by the cam-surface ofthe ring W, which is tirinly secured in the diaphragm I and casing J.

The plunger -is of a determinate adjusted length, and occupies the wholespace, when red, between the iiat portieri ofthe cam-surface W. and therear of the barrel. The load having been discharged, the rear of thebuttpiece, under the continued rotation, passes heyond the surface W',and the lug a. is engaged by the pointed end of the cam-surface W, whichisalso inside of the ring W. This ineline has the e'ect of withdrawingthe plunger,l which in turn, by the engagement ot'rthe hook e' with theflange of the cartridge-case or spent capsule, retracts the latter fromthe bore and allows it to drop out of the cavity of the carrier Q towardthe ground. l

At the risk of tedius repetition I would here repeatv that while thereciprocating motions of the parts are ot' course intermittent, as thereare periods during which they pause for a fraction of a second, andcannot'be strictly considered as incessant, yet the revolving motion ofthe barrels and attendant mechanism is absolutely continuous while lthe.guns pass through the various stages of loading, firing,

oi' retracting cartridge-cases and withdrawing the plunger to make roomfor anothercartridge to occupy the groove in the carrier, thus bringingthe succession of guus to the loading and tiring points, and causingthem to follow cach other iu a coiistantly-recurring cycle ofoperations, all the balls being discharged atV one point and followingin the wake of each other with precision unless by the training of thegun in a horizontal or other plane the sheet of balls is made to sweepasection of the eirelewithin its range.

The gun described, which has four barrels, can be discharged at the rateof two hundicd shots per minute, and guus on the same principle with alarger number of barrels can be ,in-.ide to discharge three hundredshotsper minute.

Having thus fully, clearly, andexactly described the construction andoperation ot' my invention, the following is what I claim as new thereinand desire. to secuieby Letters Patent:

1. Making the series of barrels with their appropriatelocks andcartridge-cavities to revolve ou an axis, while the requisite motions toperform the loading directly into the lrear end of the barrel,exploding, and the cartridge-caseretracting operations are obtained bythe impingeinent of points on the revolving mechanism upon xed spirals,cams, oriiiclined planes, these several operations heilig performedconsecutively without stopping the rotation of the barrels when the gunis in operation.

,2. The locks, Figs. 12 and 13, which revolve with the barrels andbreech, and are operated by the cam-faces and sprin gs duringtheir-revolution. .v

3. The cani-ring, Fig. 5, which is rigidly attaclied to the diaphragmofthe stationary casing, and which by means of its cam-faces controlsthe longitudinal reciprocating motions of the locks by means ofthelugsand the impingement of the butt-ends ofthe lock upon it,.

substantially as described. f

4. The caps to be placed over the cavity in the carrier to shut ot' thefeed-,substantially as described.

nicHARD J.- GATLING.

Witnesses:

JOHN GONDELL, A EDWARD H. DWIGHT.

